November 23rd marks the Wibour Library of Egyptology’s 80th anniversary! #BKMLibrary will be celebrating for several months with posts packed with history and fascinating facts about the venerable Wilbour, one of the world’s finest resources for the study of ancient Egypt. After all this time you might think that there’s nothing new to unearth– but think again. Serendipitous discoveries are being made all the time as library stacks are scrutinized, inventoried, and bibliographic records are upgraded by new generations of librarians.
Our core collection is built around the library of the prominent American Egyptologist Charles Edwin Wilbour. In 1916 Wilbour’s children donated his collection of Egyptian antiquities, library and personal papers, to the Brooklyn Museum. The remainder of his estate was donated to the Museum in 1931 to build a library completely devoted to the study of Egyptology. WLE officially opened its doors in 1934.
Many more books and objects found their way to the Museum over the years –some as gifts and many purchased by the librarians and curators who cared for the collection throughout the years. Sometimes books just bide their time, sleeping on our shelves and awaiting their perfect reader, or alert to a restless hand that wanders over the shelves—and surprise! Here are some examples of our daily WLE ‘excavations’.
Posted by Kim Loconto